Quality Feed: Superior Nutrition Bonds with Pet Horses and Their Owners

The bond between horses and their owners appear to be much stronger than with other pets.

This occurs as a result of the unique physical communication that occurs between a horse and its rider, a communion of sorts that is totally unlike playing with a dog or cat.

One important way that owners show love and affection for their horses is in the way they feed them and tend to their nutrition. Research from the University of Georgia and the University of Florida shows that there are six basic nutrients necessary for the proper care of horses:

1. MINERALS — Mineral requirements for horse are likely to change according to the age and status of the horse. For example, antioxidants, including trace minerals like copper, zinc and iodine are particularly crucial for horses that are engaged in work, older, growing, immune-compromised, or have allergies. Antioxidants also fight free radicals (i.e., damaged cells missing a critical molecule). An overabundance of free radicals in a horse’s body will damage healthy cells, which can suppress the immune system while elevating illnesses and nervous system dysfunction within the animal. In a perfect world, a horse could get all the antioxidants it needs from feeding in green pastures. However, many horses today don’t have access to such grasslands, so it may be necessary to supplement their antioxidants in their feed.

2. VITAMINS — As with certain minerals, vitamins can protect against the growth of free radicals. However, excessive levels may lead to toxicity.

3. WATER — Hydration helps reduce colic and maintain healthy digestion.

4. CARBOHYDRATES — These are the largest part of a horse’s diet and an aid to the digestive system.

5. PROTEIN — This food group is broken down into amino acids, and they re-form in the muscles, hair and hooves.

6. FATS — These are an excellent source of energy, and they are easily digestible.

Hermetically Sealed Bags to Support Your Horses’ Nutrition

Providers of hermetically sealed bags, such as Fres-co, can help support horses’ health in two ways. First, owners can extend the shelf life of their premium horse feed if they choose to purchase it in flexible packages. The barrier protection available from the advanced materials in flexible packaging are much more capable of reducing mold growth or even eliminating it altogether. Dan Wigman, a senior industrial packaging specialist at Fres-co System USA, Inc., tells of a major supplier of animal nutrition that came to the company with that very challenge. “They needed moisture protection to keep their feed fresh and keep it from spoiling. It was a premium product known as a ‘wet feed.’ A bag like ours offers the best way to protect the products nutritious additives and keep it fresh and moist.”

According to Wigman, the company became a Fres-co customer, and the packaging they obtained helped preserve their horse feed longer. According to a three-month shelf life study that the customer conducted with Fres-co, Wigman said that the results were so extraordinary that “one of our sales reps had heard that some horse owners who purchased the feed thought (Fres-co’s customer) had reformulated the food. That’s how unusually moist it was.”

Another advantage to horse owners of flexible packaging is the billboard effect — that is, the ability to print detailed information on nutrition right on the package. This can help owners know if the feed is appropriate for their horses.

One last practical advantage for horse owners of valved, flexible bags is stackability, which makes storage easier. Combined with the other benefits —freshness, extended shelf life, and detailed nutritional information — the rewards from multilayer flexible bags for premium horse feed are clear.

Contact us to learn more about how the Termalock industrial sealing system from Fres-co supports the producers, the distributors and users of premium feeds for horses and other farm animals. While you are on our site, check out the other pages that tell of the wide range of products that the Termalock industrial sealing system protects against dehydration, moisture and oxidation.

For more than 40 years, Fres-co System USA, Inc. has manufactured high-performance flexible packaging systems and invented dozens of innovative breakthroughs including degassing valves, modified atmosphere technologies, and reclosure systems.

Topics: Flexible Packaging

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